Well, this is unique.
When
was the last time a superstar and reigning Finals MVP took a gigantic
cut of his potential paycheck to remain with the organization that
brought him in to form a superteam? Kevin Durant
won't be putting on a different uniform for the next few years, and his
sacrifice enables the Golden State Warriors to keep the crew together
for at least another year.
Don't you wish you could endure a legitimate, noteworthy sacrifice and still make over $50 million?
But Durant wasn't the only big story in the NBA during the final day of the United States' age-240 season.
Plenty
of teams are still courting Gordon Hayward. The Cleveland Cavaliers and
Chauncey Billups came to a decision about an executive role. George
Hill and Derrick Rose are talking to new suitors.
If you missed any stories, don't worry. We've got you covered.
Finally, something goes right for the Golden State Warriors.
Kevin Durant has agreed to a two-year, $53 million deal—with a player option on the final season—according to ESPN.com's Chris Haynes. His return isn't significant. He was never leaving Golden State.
The
dollar amount on Durant's new contract is a different story. He was
eligible to sign for 35 percent of next season's $99 million cap—about
$34.7 million. His salary in Year 1 of this deal, per USA Today's Sam Amick, will be roughly $25 million—or nearly $10 million less than he should have received.
And get this: If Andre Iguodala bolted, Durant planned to take a larger discount so the Warriors could sign Rudy Gay, according to Amick.
Iguodala is back on a three-year, $48 million pact, which means this is
immaterial. But Durant has still saved owner Joe Lacob potentially tens
of millions of dollars in luxury-tax payments.
So
let's pour one out for the 2017 NBA Finals MVP, and his quest to save
the world's one-percenters eight figures annually, one contractual
sacrifice at a time.
Gordon Hayward has yet to make a decision. Sources
who do not exist, and who most definitely aren't close to the
situation, say this is because he might want to interrupt your
Independence Day barbecues, Netflix binges, beach excursions and nap
times.
Then again, maybe not. As of now, he's
taking the much more ambiguous "I'll take my time and announce my
potentially life-altering decision on my own terms" approach, according
to the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach.
Some nerve, right?
In
other news, Hayward met with the Utah Jazz on Monday. For fans worried
the Ricky Rubio trade rendered them a turnoff, don't be. ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne says he wanted Utah to bring in the offensive pilot.
Rubio
is so integral to Hayward's return that he joined Rudy Gobert and the
recently re-signed Joe Ingles to help re-recruit Hayward, per Shelburne. The meeting went well, according to the Salt Lake Tribune's Tony Jones, because of course it did. These face-to-faces always go well (unless you're the Los Angeles Lakers and sitting down with LaMarcus Aldridge).
Hayward's
swell-of-a-time chitchat with the Jazz took place in San Diego. This is
noteworthy only because Miami Heat president Pat Riley, with whom
Hayward broke bread with on Saturday, may have also been in San Diego.
It's possible this is all innocent. Riley and crew flew to Los Angeles over the weekend to meet with incumbent
free agent Dion Waiters. Maybe they ended up in San Diego on a lark, or
due to a freak connection, or because they wanted tacos.
Or maybe, just maybe, Riley is stalking Hayward's life and plans to hold him hostage until he signs with the Heat.
Either way, we should expect Hayward's decision soon. And according to USA Today's Sam Amick, "soon" means after Hayward sleeps on it and chooses between the Jazz, Heat and Celtics.
Carmelo Anthony did it! He outlasted Phil Jackson in New York.
So, naturally, he's ready to leave.
League sources told ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski that
Anthony is finally ready to waive his no-trade clause—with the caveat
the New York Knicks trade him to the Cleveland Cavaliers or Houston
Rockets.
Hammering out a deal with Cleveland is
basically impossible unless Kevin Love is included, and the Cavaliers
should absolutely vomit at the framework of such a swap. Getting a third
and fourth team to join the party could help, but this situation is in
potentially unmanageable territory. Both the Cavaliers and Knicks will
be looking for additional compensation, so it's not as easy as sending
pot-sweeteners one way.
Houston is the more
interesting suitor. General manager Daryl Morey has assembled an army of
expiring contracts and has Ryan Anderson's and Eric Gordon's deals to
dangle. But the Knicks shouldn't touch the remaining three years and
$61.2 million on Anderson's contract, and the Rockets don't have the
requisite wiggle room to offer Gordon alone.
Lest we forget, by the way, Anthony drove Houston's head coach, Mike D'Antoni, to resign his post with
the Knicks in 2012. That could become a factor if these two sides ever
seek out a third team to facilitate this would-be blockbuster.
Chauncey Pulls the Dip on Dan Gilbert
Things are totally fine in Cleveland. (No, they're not.)
Chauncey Billups has passed on taking over as the Cavaliers' president of basketball operations, according to Wojnarowski. If owner Dan Gilbert's decision to show former general manager David Griffin the door didn't look bad before, it does now.
Fear not, though, loyal Cavaliers supporters. Gilbert has a plan: Do nothing.
Sources told the Associated Press' Tom Withers that Gilbert is "impressed with job done in free agency by current front-office group led by assistant GM Koby Altman."
Just
to recap, this is what the Cavaliers have done in free agency:
Re-signed Kyle Korver to a three-year, $22 million deal, and landed Jose
Calderon. That's it.
Cleveland can only hope LeBron James is this easy to please when he hits the open market next summer.
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